"Keep awake...you do not know on what day your Lord is coming."
We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.
Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.
CONTEMPLATIVE / SILENT PRAYER
Our Centering Prayer sit is 20 - 30 minutes sounded by the chime/chant. At the end of the Prayer sit, we will linger in silence a few minutes, then follow by praying together the Our Father.
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First reading & silent reflection: Reflect in silence.
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LECTIO: from Matthew 24: 36-44
“‘But about that day and hour
no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in
those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving
in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the
flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women
will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep
awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.’”
Second reading & reflection: What word or phrase catches your attention? Share or pass.
Third reading & reflection: How does this word or phrase touch your life? Share or pass.
Fourth and last reading & silent reflection: How is God inviting you to grow? We will reflect in silence for a few moments before we move from Lectio Prayer to the teaching by Father Keating or another contemplative guide.
Teaching:
Mary gave the most practical advice of all time in her
offhand remark to the waiters at the wedding of Cana. “Do,” she said, “whatever
he tells you.” That is precisely what she did. . . . To do God’s will is to lose
one’s own separate identity. To consent to the fact of God’s interior presence
is to know where you came from and where you are going. It is to know who you
are. “Do you consent to become divine?” That is the question asked of us today.
The second question is more concrete. “Will you consent to express me, your God,
in your body?” That is scary! To be God in everything we say and do and are!
Such is the radical consent our Lady gave.
~Thomas Keating, Awakenings, p. 99-100.
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We now take some time to share our thoughts and reflections on our own spiritual journey and our prayer practice. Followed by brief prayers of intercession. Share or pass.
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Go in the name of Christ Jesus to love and serve the Lord. Thanks be to God!
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[This is an adapted format courtesy of Martha Johnston, Contemplative Outreach of Maryland and Washington, DC]
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